ITS Winter Updates

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WiFi improvements in the dorms and the library have been occurring throughout December and January. If you are experiencing any WiFi issues, we want to know about them. Please email its@manhattan.edu or call 718-862-7973 to let us know.

A SMART board has been installed in RLC 102.

The Spring 2016 Computer Lab Image has resolved most of the issues that were present in the Fall.

We have thoroughly checked all classrooms and computer labs to resolve as many issues as possible. We have rolled out fixes to most labs on campus and will continue to push out fixes over the next few weeks.

Reminders

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The best way to get in touch with a Client Services representative is an email to its@manhattan.edu or a phone call to x7973 (718-862-7973). Note that email and voicemail for this line go to our ticketing system so we encourage you to leave a message.

Security is important. Passwords should never be handwritten/visible to the public.

Remember that we will never ask you for your password. We encourage you all to please reset your computer password and provide the temporary password to ITS prior to dropping it off at Client Services. If you do not do this prior, please allocate an extra 5 minutes to work with a Client Services representative so that they can assist you in changing your password when working with us. Upon completion of work on your computer, please allocate another 5 minutes so that a Client Services representative can assist you in changing your password back to its original state. This is necessary in order to safeguard your password. Remember that you should never give your password out to anyone under any circumstances. Note that the same procedure holds true when you are requesting assistance with one of your Manhattan College accounts.

Client Services can NOT lend out equipment to students. If a student needs equipment for a project, they must have a Manhattan College employee sign out equipment on their behalf. Note that the Manhattan College employee is responsible for that equipment.

Client Services can provide short-term loaner equipment such as laptops and projectors by reservation. Note that if equipment is needed long term, it should be purchased via your department.

In lieu of loaning certain cables and remotes, Client Services has installed commonly used VGA and Audio cables as well as projector remotes in all yet-to-be-renovated classrooms. Network cables will be provided to faculty upon request. Faculty requiring other specialty cables or adapters (such as Apple VGA adapters) should contact Client Services for assistance purchasing this equipment as they are not stocked or provided by Client Services.

The Client Services office does not work on personal computers. We will train employees and students and instruct them on how to fix their computers, but personal computers cannot be dropped off for service. No personal items should ever be left in any of the Client Services offices.

Please remember to plan event setups in advance. We work with limited resources so we cannot always complete last minute requests. You can reserve rooms here.

Client Services currently has 3 convenient locations: Jasper Basement, LIB 504, & RLC 103. Please stop by the location closest to you. We encourage you to call first to be sure that someone is available as we are constantly assisting the Manhattan College community.

Campus-owned computers are purchased with hardware support provided by the manufacturer. ITS will diagnose and determine whether manufacturer hardware support is needed. For the fastest service, users are also able to contact the manufacturer directly to access hardware support and replacement.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

On Friday 1/15 and Wednesday 1/20, the Moodle system (http://lms.manhattan.edu) experienced a major system issue. As a result, the Moodle system was offline from approximately 9AM-4PM on Friday 1/15 and Wednesday 1/20 for troubleshooting. The cause of the issue has since been identified and resolved. As of 10AM on Thursday 1/21, the Moodle system is functioning normally and all class enrollments for Spring 2016 are online.

On Friday 1/15 around 9AM, ITS received a report of class enrollment issues for users accessing the Moodle system. ITS promptly took the Moodle system offline for troubleshooting. Troubleshooting lasted much of the day and the Moodle system was restored from a recent backup from 2AM on Friday 1/15. Please note that course work posted between 2AM-9AM on Friday 1/15 may need to be reposted. The restore process was completed by 4PM on Friday and automatic class enrollments for new students were halted until Tuesday 1/19.

ITS closely monitored the Moodle system through Tuesday 1/19. New class enrollments were re-enabled on 1/19 and no issues were experienced or reported. New user creation was re-enabled for Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday 1/20, ITS became aware of issues with the Moodle system similar to those reported on Friday 1/15. Again, the Moodle system was taken offline for troubleshooting. The cause of the issue was identified and resolved without the need to restore from a backup. The Moodle system was made available to the community by 4PM on Wednesday 1/20.

As of 10AM on Thursday 1/21, all automated process to add users and course enrollments have been enabled and are functioning normally.

The cause of the issue in both cases was a configuration being applied to the SSO Authentication settings of Moodle that included a typographical error. The configuration error caused unexpected behaviour in the automated processes to add new users and enrollments to the Moodle system. The configuration error has been corrected and ITS is working to implement tighter controls to prevent similar errors from happening in the future.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Update:
The issue that caused Friday's as well as today's outage has been definitively identified.
The moodle production system is back on line and enrollments will be restored over the next hour. We do not anticipate any data loss at this time.

The moodle course system is off line for emergency maintenance.

We apologize for any inconvenience and are working to repair the problem and ensure that this does not happen in the future.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

We want to make sure that your correct personal email address is on file so that we can verify your account when you are not on site. This is critical if you are troubleshooting Jaspernet account access remotely.

ITS will be providing classroom technology training Tuesday January 26th at 3:30PM and Wednesday January 27th at 12PM. Both sessions will start in Miguel 201.

We will take faculty to classrooms around campus to show how the technology works in the different rooms. It is highly recommended that new faculty or faculty wishing to have a refresher attend. Since we will be travelling to different rooms, it is important to be on time.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Since approximately 9am this morning January 15 the Moodle system, lms.manhattan.edu has been unavalable.

An authentication error caused multiple erroneous course enrollments as well as several other usability issues. We took the system off line to investigate and were forced to revert to the 2am system backup.

We do not expect this to be a datal loss event but be aware any work done after 2am may have been lost.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will closely monitor the Moodle system throughout the weekend.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

ITS will be applying updates to the JasperNet SSO system Tuesday evening starting at 8PM. During this time, the SSO system may be offline. Users already authenticated to JasperNet services should be unaffected, while anyone accessing a new JasperNet service during the maintenance period may not be able to login until the maintenance is completed.

Monday, January 11, 2016

ITS has already begun the process of upgrading JasperNet WIFI coverage in the O'Malley Library. Over the course of the next few days, the existing WIFI devices in the library will be replaced with newer devices to provide better coverage and faster connectivity. After the upgrade is complete, ITS will perform a complete test of the new WIFI system and add coverage in additional locations as needed.

As a result of the work to upgrade WIFI in the library, access to JasperNet WIFI in the library may be unavailable for the next few days until the upgrade is complete. Check back to ITSblog for updates.